1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to spring dye tubes which are cylindrical in shape and resiliently compressible in the axial direction. Although open-ended, the side cylindrical surface of the spring dye tubes of the present invention is an open latticework of transverse and axial, or substantially axial, or of helical and axial, members. These members serve as carrier elements upon which yarn is wound for dyeing. The edges of the ends of the spring dye tubes are perpendicular to the side cylindrical surfaces, so that the tubes can be stacked one atop the next during the dyeing process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Spring dye tubes are used as cores onto which textile yarn is wound for dyeing. In use, the tubes are placed on dye spindles or the like in pressurized vessels. The dyeing process is carried out when dyestuff cycles back and forth radially through the core and through the yarn wound thereon.
Resiliently collapsible, or compressible, spring dye tubes provide the advantage that a greater amount of yarn can be placed in the dye kettle for dyeing during a single cycle. This is a result of the ability of each spring dye tube on a stack about a given spindle to be collapsed or axially compressed to some degree.
At the present time, spring dye tubes of this type are largely molded from thermoplastic materials, and can be produced in large numbers quite economically. Generally, they are used once and discarded, thus obviating the former necessity to clean stainless steel dye springs thoroughly between successive uses in order to avoid contaminating later dyeing cycles with trace amounts of previously used dye.
The present invention is primarily directed toward problems typically encountered during the winding cycle, that is, the manufacturing step wherein the yarn is wound onto the spring dye tube before dyeing. The winding itself is carried out at high speeds. This often causes an axial lengthening, or growth, of the tube as a whole to occur. The tubes may also be compressed during winding depending on the angle at which the yarn is wound thereonto. In either case, such structural instability could render it impossible to properly stack the spring dye tubes within the kettle for dyeing. The present invention provides a solution to these often frustrating problems, because it includes a membrane-like stabilizing member which inhibits both compression and elongation during the winding cycle.